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Education

Stone King’s Cambridge and Bath offices paddled to the beat of a drum at two Dragon Boat Race fundraising events in September.

Dressed as Kings, the Stone King Dragons in Cambridge mustered nine crew members and teamed up with four rowers from Allia to complete the squad for the 15th annual race on the River Cam.

The same weekend, 12 paddlers from the national law firm’s Bath office took to the River Avon. Whilst both teams did not make it past the heat stages, what the teams lacked in speed they made up for in enthusiasm.

Earlier this year the first new guidance on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) in almost 20 years was issued by the Department for Education.

The new regime will make RSE compulsory in all secondary schools, including those in the independent sector, from September 2020. Primary schools across all sectors will also be required to teach Relationships Education. While not compulsory, the Government also recommends that primary pupils are provided with an age-appropriate programme of sex education.

The existence of the confidential information can affect schools in a wide range of instances. This article looks at what confidential information is, how it can be protected and what can happen if it is misused.

What is confidential information?

Confidential Information is broadly any information that is confidential in nature and disclosed in circumstances importing an obligation of confidence. It is commonly used to protect commercially sensitive information and material, which cannot be protected by intellectual property rights.

Earlier this year the Education and Skills Funding Agency published guidance on indicators for potential fraud. Whilst not aimed at independent schools, it nonetheless provides a helpful list of generic indicators and/or risk factors associated with potential fraud. It also highlights that due to the nature of fraud, the indicators/risk factors listed are not designed to be an exclusive list but instead may be helpful for use as a checklist where concerns exists that fraudulent activity may be taking place.

Independent schools are required to meet the standards set out in the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (“the standards”). Independent schools are inspected against these standards by their relevant inspectorate (ISI or Ofsted).

The Department for Education (“DfE”) has recently produced guidance expanding upon each of the standards and setting out its interpretation of them.

We are often asked to advise on issues where parents have separated and the school finds itself stuck in the middle. How can the school navigate these situations? The answer to this thorny question is best answered by running through the series of questions set out below:-

If your school has received a tricky subject access request (‘SAR’), you will perhaps already be aware that the GDPR provides that a request can only be refused where it is “manifestly unfounded or excessive”. Up until now, there has been limited guidance as to what this actually means, which has resulted in many schools (rightly) taking a cautious approach when responding to a SAR.

During the summer period we often notice an increase in cases involving trespassers on school sites. Part of this is likely to be attributable to schools being closed for the holidays, and therefore land is in less regular use. It is important that schools keep a close eye on their land and take swift action if such a situation arises. This includes seeking immediate legal advice so that schools are able to recover possession of the land with the least amount of damage possible.